The present invention relates to telescope sight mount systems for firearms, and is specifically concerned with a new and improved telescope sight mount construction.
A known conventional arrangement for mounting a telescope sight on a firearm such as a rifle involves the attachment of a base to the firearm and the subsequent attachment of a mount to the base. The mount contains a receptacle, or cradle, for a telescope sight. In a typical telescope mounting there may be two mounting locations which are spaced apart along the length of the firearm thereby providing a two point mounting for a telescope sight. Each base includes a slide portion, or a key, which extends axially lengthwise of the firearm barrel. The slide portion may be any one of a number of possible shapes. One shape is analogous to the tenon of a dovetail. The mount also includes an attaching mechanism via which the mount is removably secured to the base. The attaching mechanism is a multi-piece construction which clamps onto the slide portion of the base. The multi-piece construction may be generally described as comprising two separate pieces loosely held together by a thumbscrew fastener. In this loosely held condition the thumbscrew may be adjusted allowing the two separate pieces to be slipped onto the slide portion of the base. When the thumbscrew is now tightened, the two pieces are drawn together to thereby clamp onto the slide portion of the base.
Because of the inherent nature of this prior attachment mechanism, loosening of the thumbscrew can occasion a similar loosening of the mount on the base. This can give rise to loss of sighting adjustment of the telescope sight on the firearm. Carried to an extreme the further loosening of the thumbscrew could result in the mount separating from the base and the distinct possibility of damage to the telescope sight. Examples of this type of attaching mechanism are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,040,433; 3,259,986; 2,632,251; and 2,803,907.
The present invention is directed to a new and improved telescope sight mount system in which a one-piece mount contains the entirety of a channel via which the mount clamps on a base. The one-piece mount comprises a receptacle portion defining a receptacle for the body of the telescope sight and a base-engaging portion containing the channel. The channel is of a dovetail shape. The receptacle portion, when viewed axially, is of generally semicircular shape having free distal ends. The receptacle and base-engaging portions have a common juncture at a central region of the receptacle portion. When the mount is in its free condition, the transverse shape of the channel is such in relation to the transverse shape of the slide portion of the base that the channel cannot be slid onto the base. However, when oppositely directed forces are applied to the distal ends of the receptacle portion, the inherent elasticity of the material and construction of the mount causes the base-engaging portion to slightly enlarge the transverse shape of the channel whereby it may now be slid axially onto the slide portion of the base. These oppositely directed forces may be conveniently applied by simply pinching the free distal ends of the base between the thumb and forefinger. Upon release, the elastic resiliency of the mount causes the base-engaging portion to return toward its free shape whereby it clamps onto the slide portion of the base thereby retaining the mount in position on the base. In order to provide additional assurance for clamping the mount on the base, a locking screw is provided which extends transversely across the channel between transverse opposite sides of the base-engaging portion. The locking screw is tightened to urge the opposite sides of the base-engaging portion toward each other, and hence urge the transverse shape of the channel toward contraction, thereby more forcefully clamping the transverse sides of the base-engaging portion against the transverse sides of the slide portion of the base.
A clamp is also applied over the receptacle of the mount, and the two are separably fastened by screws so as to thereby removably clamp the telescope in the receptacle.
In one embodiment of mount the common juncture between the base-engaging portion and the receptacle portion occurs with the base-engaging portion being approximately tangent to the central region of the receptacle portion. In that embodiment the nature of the common juncture allows the base-engaging portion to resiliently flex in response to application of the oppositely directed forces to the free distal ends of the receptacle portion.
The foregoing features, advantages and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time for carrying out the invention.